NOTHING NEW!

Apologies for the behaviour of that naughty Delores yesterday. Fancy packing me off to landfill with a flea in my ear just so she can sort out my cleaning affairs. Tsk - as if I haven't got anything else to think about. It is nice to have a clean bathroom though!

Now it might seem extreme but I have officially named November as my BUY NOTHING NEW MONTH, which means, apart from birthday gifts for family members, food and other household essentials, I shall not buy anything new for the next 29 days!

It all starts today!

And I can tell you, it's going to be blimmin' hard.

Not only have I got a wedding to dress up for next weekend, but I've also been invited to a Pampered Chef party this week, you know the kind, where the salesperson cooks up something really tasty before your very eyes using gadgets that promise to turn you into a domestic goddess and your resistance weakens.

However the hardest part will be avoiding buying a new teapot to replace the one that I accidentally boiled on the stove the other week.

I'd turned on the gas hob to boil the kettle, just as Mr A asked me to check something on the computer. Minutes later, he lifted his nose in the air, took a sniff and helpfully proclaimed "There's something burning!"

And yep, it was the teapot! My gorgeous blue one that I'd bought from Whittards about 10 years ago. Like a twerp, I'd turned on the wrong knob. The kettle was still as cold as a cucumber but the teapot was hot and cracked, resting in a bath of hot tea. As it happened the Twinings breakfast blend turned out to be a fantastic hob cleaner, but that was no silver lining to the black cloud that was beginning to brew.

So why am I doing this "buy nothing new" month?

I suppose over the years I've got to know my habits really well and because I've got the willpower of a cat tossing a bird, November has become a dangerous month in both the financial and clutter departments

You see it's the Christmas shopping that gets me every time.

It's like "One for you....one for me...one for you...one for me", and by the time I've bought my Auntie Dilys her regular Thorntons chocolates along with a box for my Auntie Pat, I'll be heading home with a new book and a pair of boots I couldn't resist along the way!

...Which brings me back to my lovely teapot.

I only purchased it because I'd bought an equivalent one for my sister, liked it so much that I paid for an extra. Then there were the pastry forks that I decided to keep for myself and ended up buying a replacement pressie.

There you go. Surely you'll agree that some form of therapy is definitely in order!

So this year I promise to be wise, grasp the willpower and just say no.

Instead of reaching for the credit card, I will pass things by and if I still want them in December, I'll add them to my Christmas list.

It will really make a refreshing change to have things for Christmas that I've actually anticipated and longed for, even if it is just for a few weeks, instead of buying stuff there and then!

You never know, I might not even need them after all.

But I do really need a new teapot. I've missed it too much and I hate dunking teabags in cups and mugs, which is why this month might turn out to be a real challenge indeed.

I suppose the only saving grace is that I'm such a blimmin' fusspot, it'll probably take me a month to find a suitable replacement.

So why don't you join me in this mad crusade. It could save us both some cash and make December even more special. Go on...29 days isn't that long.........is it?


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